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Planning a trip to Texas next fall

I am in the early stages of putting together a trip from Alliance Ohio to Sanger Texas for the wife and I. Plans are to do this most likely September 2012.
We are thinking about taking 5 or 6 days in both directions and the goal is to avoid most highways especially in heavy urban areas. My wife is a relatively new rider so she should probably not have too many twisty roads.
I am looking for some easy but yet interesting roads to get us there. Being this early in the planning I am very flexible on our route. I would like to hit the St. Louis area to visit family, but other than that I'm open to the route. Would also like to do a circular route as opposed to an out and back one.
Since we plan on taking it easy we are also looking for plenty of interesting things to see along the way.

First thing to do is watch the weather next year coming to Texas in September can be brutal. It wasn't until a week or two ago we quit hitting the 100 degree mark. Second you must be coming to visit relatives in Sanger not much else there......small town north of Fort Worth by about 60 miles. I must say there is not a lot of interesting stuff between where you are at and North Texas. I have made that drive many a time taking my daughter to Ohio State and it was always a bear of a drive. If you can route yourself through the Ozarks that would make for a nice ride home. But getting there would take a bit of doing. Best to pull out a map and take a look at the routes and then try to see where you can deviate to get yourself off the highways. But if you want to stick to the highways best bet is down from where you are at to Columbus to Cincinati to Louisville and then down to Nashville. Louisville and Nashville make for some great sightseeing. That leg in itself is about 500 plus miles. At Louisville you have the option of heading straight to St. Louis if you wanted to. But I would save that for the trip home. From Nashville you head to Memphis and stop and see Graceland. A little hokey but worth the visit. And then on to Little Rock. Now understand this is all highway miles and on this leg you will be doing about 350 miles. From Little Rock you would head to Texarkana Tx and down Greenville where you will depart the highways and head west on state Highway 380 That will take you to Denton Tx and from there a hop skip and a jump to Sanger on Interstate 35 north Little Rock to Sanger you are looking at another 350 miles for that final let. There is some nice scenery along the way, you will just be seeing it from the interstate......keep us posted.

Arkansas

Fun trip ahead. If you look at a map of Arkansas, you'll see a lot of the northern roads marked "scenic" and indeed, they are. Generally between Little Rock and the Oklahoma border, you can't go wrong. You won't always be taking a direct route, mind you, but that entire Ouachita (Wash-a-taw) National Forest is eye-and-road candy, but nothing ridiculous for a new rider. All the roads in the northern part are at least "good" and most are "excellent."

Arkansas SR 7 deserves special mention - it runs N-S for almost the entire state, and is very highly recommended for whatever part you can catch.

You should be OK, weather-wise, except for fierce thunderstorms, and some of the elevations are enough to produce COLD weather in September, so dress accordingly.

Watch out for driveways that enter the road around curves, over hills, etc. Lots of rural driveways in this state!

Most little towns have at least one great restaurant, IF you enjoy fried food, and this would be everything on the menu. You must carry your own espresso machine, however.

There are Miles and Miles of Texas, most of the interesting fun ones are in the Hill Country. I no longer live in Texas but loved the people and some of the funky little places you would come across in small towns like Melvin or Gruene, I'm sure a lot has changed since I left but Utopia can still be found in Texas. Pop 241.

Yes we are going to visit family in Sanger, actually will be flying down there this coming Sunday.
Walking Eagle - taking your advice in Arkansas I am looking at rt 62 across the north to rt 7 and then south to Hot Springs where we will head west to Broken Bow OK. From what I have seen it looks like a beautiful route.
I need some more help with the northern leg particularly through Indiana and Illinois. Thinking about heading across 50 from Cincinnati to St Louis. Is this going to be a mind numbing 350 miles? I have been to Seymour but that was many years ago.
Of course we will need food along the way and are not big fans of the chain restaurants so any suggestions in that area are welcome.
Thanks for the help so far

I will be watching this thread, as I am also thinking about a trip to Texas next year. I don't have a specific date for mine yet, but the friend I'm going to visit lives a bit north of Dallas, so it's in the same area where you are heading. If the dates work out for me, I will be in touch. I live in Western Lower Michigan, just north of Grand Rapids, so it would take a bit of travel time to meet up somewhere on your route.

I've been to a Rally in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and the roads around the northern area of that state are really what Walking Eagle described, as in very good!

Arkansas Highway 9

Yes, Arkansas Highway NINE (9), which is Missouri SR 19 until it hits the state line,
is also a beaut. Runs from north border all the way almost to Hot Springs, AR, more-or-less N-SW.

Just "in general" I'd say this: Arkansas is very, very scenic to the NW of a line drawn from Texarkana up to Jonesboro. No offense to anyone whose home may be located to the SE of this imaginary line. . .and this IS just a "general comment" -- but the SE half is flatter, roads are straighter, and the mosquitoes are much, much larger.

Illinois. Thinking about heading across 50 from Cincinnati to St Louis. Is this going to be a mind numbing 350 miles?

I used to live in 'downstate' Illinois. (Thats anything south of Chicago!) and the answer to your question is "YES". Its flat and full of corn fields. But...lots of farmer towns that have great diners!

After you reach St Louis, you can go south and follow the Great River Road (Mississippi, NOT always in sight or near the road)to the southern tip of Illinois/boot heel of Missouri, then cut across Northern Arkansas!

Time is getting very near now and I believe I have our route planned. We are going to stick to secondary roads in Ohio crossing the Ohio River at Portsmouth.
After Paris KY we are going to slab it through to Paducah, crossing the mighty Mississip at Cairo,IL. A short jaunt in Missouri via Poplar Bluff will then turn us south to Pocahontas, Arkansas.
Walking Eagle I am taking your advice and we will take rt 7 across Arkansas from Harrison down to Hot Springs.
After Hot Springs we are going to skip across the corner of Oklahoma and northern Texas on to our destination in Sanger.

The return trip will take us through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee mostly on the slab. I would like to see the Cherohala Skyway so that will take us into North Carolina, across Virginia, and into southern West Virginia.
My employer has a facility in southern West Virginia and I have always wanted to ride that area on a bike as opposed to the company mini vans.
Our route then will take us up to Elkins and across to New Martinsville where we will return home on rt 800.
I would prefer to avoid the slab coming across the south but time is limited and I would rather have the time to spend on the Cherohala and in WV.
I spent this past weekend getting the bikes ready and the GPS programmed so now its just throw some clothes in the panniers and off we go!